A couple of weeks ago I flew out to Colorado to speak for a youth rally in Grand Junction, which was the first church I pastored after college nearly 20 years ago. It was great to go back and see my friends there after all these years. It was especially a joy, because I was able to take my 8-year-old daughter with me. It was fun to have a "daddy-daughter" weekend.
We flew into Denver, where we rented a car. Then we started the four-hour drive over the mountains to the western part of the state. This is my favorite drive in all of North America - four hours of driving among the peaks of the Rocky Mountains. Every time the freeway turns a corner, there's another mountain coming into view. Each one is absolutely breathtaking. So I spent the whole trip in awe, as I always do when I make that drive.
And of course, I assume my daughter is enjoying it as much as I am. So as we're approaching the Eisenhower Tunnel up at 11,000 feet, I turn to look at Kaleigh in the back seat, to get her reaction to the beautiful scenery. What I see there is my daughter with her head under her blanket, so that she can better see the DVD player which is in her lap. She was missing it all! So I called to her (she had earphones on), and told her she needed to look at the mountains we were driving through. She lowered the blanket, looked out the window, and said, "That's nice." Then she quickly put the blanket back over her head and continued to watch Beverly Hills Chihuahua.
I couldn't believe it! How can she prefer to look at the DVD (which she's seen before), rather than enjoy the beauty of the Colorado Rockies? I'm afraid I just don't get it.
I wonder how often God has the same reaction to the way I live my life. What are the things that God wants to show me, that I'm too busy to look at? How many times does He want to give me a glimpse of His majesty, His awesomeness, His grace and mercy, but I'm back here putting a blanket over my head. There's a million things that catch my attention...maybe it's something on TV, maybe it's surfing the internet, maybe it's just the busyness of life - whatever it is, it catches my attention and keeps me enthralled. So when God says, "Hey, look at this," I look for a moment, then go back to whatever I was looking at before. How much of God's wonder have I missed because I just didn't want to look when He was trying to catch my attention?
My prayer today is that I will let God take the blanket off my head, so I can be amazed by the things He loves. I want to live in awe of His beauty, His majesty, and His love.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
The Only One That Got It
I teach a Bible class here at the college called "Personal Encounters With Jesus." The class looks at a number of people who interacted with Jesus during His ministry years. Yesterday in class we were talking about Mary Magdalene, particularly her encounter with Jesus on Resurrection Sunday. You know the story - Mary goes to the tomb, finds it empty, encounters a man she assumes to be the gardener, and asks, "Where have you taken Him?" Then Jesus says her name: "Mary." She recognizes Him and begins to hold on to Him.
The question was asked in our discussion, "Why did Jesus choose Mary as the first person He appeared to after His resurrection?" Certainly there were others He could have chosen - the disciples, who He'd spent three years working with very closely; or maybe the Pharisees - He could have appeared to them and said, "Hey, told you so..." How about His mom? But He chose Mary. Why?
As I read about Mary's relationship with Jesus, it is clear that this relationship was very close. He had changed her life, and she was drawn to Him as a result. But, of course, the same could be said of others, including the disciples - particularly John, James, and Peter. What's interesting to me is how each of these is relating to Jesus at the end of His life. When we look at the disciples, they are still arguing about who will be the greatest in the Kingdom, too proud to wash each other's feet. Though their lives are being changed, the reality is that these guys still don't get it.
Now contrast this with Mary. She has only one goal - to pour out her love on Jesus. She's not too proud; in fact, just the opposite. There she is washing Jesus' feet with her tears and her perfume. All she cares about is showing her love for Jesus, and thanking Him for saving her and changing her life. What a contrast!
With these pictures in mind, it becomes clear to me why Jesus chose her to be the first to see Him in His resurrection glory: she was the only one that got it. She was the only one who understood what Jesus was all about. So He honored her by finding her first.
I pray on this Easter weekend that, like Mary, I would "get it." I pray that God would help me understand what Jesus is all about, and that, like Mary, I would have only one goal: showing my love for Jesus, and thanking Him for saving and changing me.
The question was asked in our discussion, "Why did Jesus choose Mary as the first person He appeared to after His resurrection?" Certainly there were others He could have chosen - the disciples, who He'd spent three years working with very closely; or maybe the Pharisees - He could have appeared to them and said, "Hey, told you so..." How about His mom? But He chose Mary. Why?
As I read about Mary's relationship with Jesus, it is clear that this relationship was very close. He had changed her life, and she was drawn to Him as a result. But, of course, the same could be said of others, including the disciples - particularly John, James, and Peter. What's interesting to me is how each of these is relating to Jesus at the end of His life. When we look at the disciples, they are still arguing about who will be the greatest in the Kingdom, too proud to wash each other's feet. Though their lives are being changed, the reality is that these guys still don't get it.
Now contrast this with Mary. She has only one goal - to pour out her love on Jesus. She's not too proud; in fact, just the opposite. There she is washing Jesus' feet with her tears and her perfume. All she cares about is showing her love for Jesus, and thanking Him for saving her and changing her life. What a contrast!
With these pictures in mind, it becomes clear to me why Jesus chose her to be the first to see Him in His resurrection glory: she was the only one that got it. She was the only one who understood what Jesus was all about. So He honored her by finding her first.
I pray on this Easter weekend that, like Mary, I would "get it." I pray that God would help me understand what Jesus is all about, and that, like Mary, I would have only one goal: showing my love for Jesus, and thanking Him for saving and changing me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)